Asian-Americans Tried A Vodka That Allegedly Lessens "Asian Glow" And Things Got Weird

"I think instead of Asian glow, it just looks like you ran a lap."

If you're Asian and have ever been drunk, you may have experienced something commonly known as "Asian glow."

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Asian glow is a physical response to drinking alcohol that involves facial flushing and symptoms that are not unlike that of a hangover.

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"Asian glow" is also known as "Asian flush" and impacts 36% of East Asians. It's a result of an inherited deficiency in the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase.

The acetaldehyde doesn't break down and instead accumulates in the body, causing facial flushing, nausea, and faster heartbeats.

Though many people take antihistamines (like Pepcid) to prevent the effects of alcohol, we wanted to test out a type of vodka that's ~rumored~ to reduce Asian glow.

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So we set out to try Ving Vodka.

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While it's not scientifically proven to work and isn't specifically made to prevent Asian glow, a friendly bartender said it might do the trick. Our best theory is that it counteracts Asian glow because it doesn't have histamines in it and it's super distilled. (Again, we're not scientists.)

Rules for the test:

– We took two shots of vodka: one that was just a straight shot and a second that was a mixture of a shot of vodka, lemon juice, and water.

– We waited 20 minutes and recorded the results.

Step one: shots!

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Some people thought it tasted like lemon or kale.

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While others said it was more like a full-blown salad.

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At first, things were going smoothly. But, 10 minutes in, the alcohol started to kick in.

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We were definitely ~feeling it~.

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And honestly, there were some mixed results. Some had Asian glow, some had less glow than usual, and some had almost no glow at all!

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Kane: "I think instead of Asian glow, it just looks like you ran a lap."

Maggie: "I look like I'm very athletic."

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Maggie:

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"Usually, I'm a lot redder. This looks good! Like, I look like I'm wearing blush...on purpose. I don't feel like I'm dying. I don't feel like I need to sleep."

Kevin:

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"I totally recommend the kale vodka. I feel amazing, I love the taste. I would drink this again — this is my new go-to drink! I'm only, like, slightly pink — usually I get so red."

YB:

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"I'm getting red. I'm kinda disappointed — I really thought this was not gonna make me red. It got me drunk after one shot, which is pretty cool, but I don't think the preventing Asian glow worked on me."

Sean:

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"I don't think that I would go out of my way to buy a bottle of magic Asian vodka."

Niki:

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"I just want to take a nap. I just want to lie down. I feel like I do every time I drink, and I think I look this way too."

Kane:

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"Yeah, no, this is nothing. This is like me just doing a few sit-ups. This is probably how I normally turn when I take a Pepcid. So — without taking Pepcid, an added chemical, just taking alcohol — this is actually great."

Tyler:

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"I've just been sipping on it, like, over in the corner, so I guess I would drink it again."

Allison:

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"I feel great, I just want to hug everybody in this room — I feel super. I for sure would try this again. Usually I'll take one shot and feel like I'm going to throw up everywhere, but I feel really good. I'll put it in a flask, take it wherever."

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TL;DR: At the end of our test, the vodka worked for five out of the eight people. No, it isn't scientific testing, but, hey, at least it worked for some people!